Rumtek is the seat of the Karma Kagyu lineage outside Tibet. Built in the 1960s by the 16th Karmapa. The main prayer hall has a copper-and-gold stupa in the inner sanctum. The monks chant at six and again at five; the older lamas will explain the lineage if you sit down with them after.

Yumthang is the valley of flowers in north Sikkim. Primulas, rhododendrons, blue poppies. The road runs to about 12,000 feet and the air is thin enough to slow you down. We arrived in May and the rhododendrons were in full red. The hot springs at the river mouth are still in use.

Pelling sits at 7,000 feet and the Kanchenjunga view from the upper market is the photograph everyone wants. The Pemayangtse monastery below is older than the town itself. 17th century. And the lamas open the upper floor for visitors at eight. The cantilever zang-dok-palri model on the top floor is one of the wonders.

Tiger Hill is a four o'clock wake-up. The jeep collects you, the road is dark, and the platform fills with about three hundred others. The first light hits Kanchenjunga before anything else; the mountain turns pink and then gold for about three minutes. After that everyone walks back to the jeep for chai.